February 2006
Gamasutra - A Circular Model of Gameplay
by bcpbcpThree things must happen in order for there to be gameplay:
* The player must get information about the state of the game.
* The player must be able to affect the game, creating new game states.
* New game states must be communicated to the player prompting further actions
In addition in almost all types of game:
* The game creates new states without the player's input.
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Keith Stuart: Gamesblog
by bcpbcp & 1 other (via)five-point guide to dealing with any troublesome boss
November 2005
The Philosophical Roots of Computer Game Design
by bcpbcp (via)"This is an approximate transcript of the text of my lecture at the 2004 GDC. I present it in this form because the nature of the material does not lend itself to the traditional paper format. Also, because the lecture is informal and to some extent ad-libbed, this is not a verbatim document."
October 2005
Videogame Aesthetics: We're All Going to Die!
by bcpbcpDepending on your point of view, photo-realism is either a scourge or a grail.
Types of Play
by bcpbcp (via)I believe we are trying to categorize the wrong thing. I suggest that the critical element in our taxonomy is the way users interact with entertainment products, not whether or not the product has sub-systems that 'anticipate' the user's moves. In addition, we are attempting to overlay new meaning on words that have common usage, which will invariably result in confusion both among ourselves and among our users.
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